Avatar: The Thief
by Zeeva
Summary: Zuko is hated by everyone that learns his name. He is treated like crud, and a part of him can't blame them! Things get worse when he is robbed. What will happen when he follows his thief?
1. Chapter 1

_Zeeva: Ok, this is my new Story, Avatar: The Theif._

_new oc: No, really, Z?_

_Zeeva: Very funny. Anyways, This story is full to the rim with new oc's and they are all based on friends of mine. So, since this is a new story, let me know what you think, KK?_

_new oc:Uh huh, ok then... Ahh, Z?_

_Zeeva: Yeah?_

_new oc: You forgot the disclaimer._

_Zeeva: Oh! Right! clears throat I do not own Avatar: the Last Air Bender, or any of it's characters, but as for all of the new oc's, I do own them. KK! Enjoy!_

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**Avatar: The Thief**

**Prologue:**

When war hits, the world becomes an oblique and depressing place. They only ones that can survive this time, are either fighting for their believes, standing strong as to support their families, or trying to ignore it. Along with pain, war is also what gives others power. It shows the people, who are dying, whether internally or on the battlefield, that they are superior. Those who think this, however, do not think of the not so innocent people, the thieves, crooks, and criminals. They also survive, but some are just barley. They may seem strong, but some of them are dying the most. Yes, war can do horrible things, more than separate the world, but kill innocent people, or not so innocent, if that be the case.

**Chapter 1: Unwanted Traveler**

"Get Lost!"

"You don't belong here!"

"Go home!"

These voices echoed in the head of a young man. He was traveling alone, besides the companion of an ostrich horse. He pulled his cone shaped hat more in front of his scared face. It was pouring; it had been now for three days. The weather, like everyone he had met since he began to travel alone, loathed him. No, they didn't loath, they hated, despised, couldn't stand him. He was an outcast everywhere. The only one that would even cooperate with him, was the ostrich horse, and even it disapproved of him.

The rain began to fall harder, and the boy started to think of his last companion, his uncle. He remembered his uncle's wisdom, and his proverbs. The thoughts of his uncle made him feel a little better, but the hatred of all the people that knew who he was, quickly concealed the happiness. He looked up from his sorrows, as he began to approach a town. The streets were deserted, but that didn't surprise him. With all the rainfall, the people must have just given up on being outdoors. He came up to a tavern, and came down from the ostrich horse, leaving everything with it, besides a small pouch.

The small pouch contained the very little amount of money he had, but he hoped it would get him a place to sleep, and some food. He walked inside, and removed his hat, revealing his short black hair. Making his way through the crowd, he went up to the counter, and asked a man how much it would cost for a room and food. The man looked down at him, and told him it was fifty gold pieces, just for the room. Food raged between ten to seventy gold pieces. The boy looked into his pouch, and sighed. He had nowhere near enough. He left the tavern, and looked at his hungry animal friend. He walked into a nearby store, and came out with some feed.

The ostrich horse was pleased, and nudged the boy's cheek as a thank you. Thou a little pleased of himself, for seeing the animal show some likeness towards him, his expression remained grim as he petted its head. He looked out towards the street, and waited for the animal to finish its meal. Before it could finish, however, he saw a little girl standing in the rain.

Her eyes were large and brown, different from his small golden eyes. They also cried for help from the boy. He motioned her to come to him, and she did. With a closer look, he estimated the girl's age was around five or so. He took off his wet coat, which was over a matching green tank top, and put it on the girl's head, telling her to dry off under the slight roofing of the store. She smiled at him, and began to use his coat to dry off her dark brown hair. He smiled a slight smile back, and stood up to give her a helping hand. What he didn't realize, was that the girl wasn't alone.

From behind, he caught a glimpse of another person. They ran by, grabbing the girl, his coat, and his pouch. He saw the person leave, not being able to tell if it was male or female, and started to run after them. He untied the ostrich horse, and climbed on. He chased them in to the woods, determined to retrieve his belongings, and the girl. In the woods, he stopped. He had lost them, and was now lost as well. The woods were far from inviting. They were dark, wet, and there was no trail to lead him towards the thief, or back to the town.

He got off the ostrich horse, sat down on a moss-covered rock, and rubbed the top of his head. This was bad. He wanted his things, and to help the girl, but he would be lucky if he could find a way out. He began to think, again, of his uncle, and how he would react in this type of situation. He grunted, and shook his head. His uncle wouldn't have even noticed. He would have kept walking, thinking to himself, most likely about tea, and would not have noticed until he was _out_ of the woods.

"You seem lost," a voice behind him said. He turned around, and looked at the person addressing him. Looking back was another girl, not much younger than he was. "Did you here me?" The girl asked, "I said, 'you look lost,' so, are you?" In the dark, the boy couldn't see many features of the girl, but as much as he hated to admit it, he needed help. He nodded, and the girl gave her hand to him. "My name is Kojima. What's yours?" She asked. The boy stared at her before reaching out and shaking her hand. "My name is… Zuko," he said.

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_OMG! I can't believe I went that whole chapter with out saying his name. That is cool. For those who are thinking, "Who was the theif anyways" Or, "Why was Kojima in the woods in the first place?" Reveiw! Maybe you'll find out in the next chapter! (you never know!)_


	2. Chapter 2

Hey ya'll. Umm... For those who caught my spelling mistake, um, I hope I spelled it write in this chap. For those who didn't catch it, I love you. lol. But hey, I'm getting ahead of myself: I do not own Avatar the last air bender, or any of it's characters.

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**Chapter 2: Unknown Revealed**

That's it. It was done. Someone knew his name. He knew that now, Kojima would leave him there to die. She looked at him, startled, and pulled him up from his rock. "You, ok?" She asked. He nodded, and Kojima pulled him with her.

She led Zuko through the woods, and the ostrich horse followed them. Kojima pushed trees and rocks out of the way, attempting to make a path. Zuko could only watch. The question of why Kojima was in the woods still crossed his mind, along with why she still wanted to help him, but it was shortly answered. She moved one more tree branch and they walked into a clearing that had been filled by something else, small homes.

She continued to lead him into the clearing. The clearing seemed to have more light, and he could see Kojima. She wore glasses over her green eyes; she had long chestnut colored hair, and was very tall. She looked around, then called out, "Hey! Everybody! New Guy!" Zuko looked around, amazed, as people emerged from the houses. Zuko realized something, the people, where all children, or most of them. The oldest ones looked no older than he did. They children murmured as they started to approach him. The younger ones hiding behind the older ones. "His name is Zuko!" Kojima announced.

Zuko nearly had a heart attack. One of these kids had to know his name, the chances of otherwise, were very slim. By now, he had realized Kojima didn't, but the rest of them, this was bad. One of the kids walked up to him. He was short, but his face made him look about Zuko's age. He was round, and had shorter hair than Zuko; all in all, he looked like a munchkin out of the Wizard of Oz. "Welcome," he said. Zuko nodded, still very confused. "My name is Hara. If you have any questions, you can come to me."

Zuko continued to look around and asked Hara, "Where am I?" The group laughed mostly the young ones. "You, my friend," Hara explained, "are in the middle of nowhere, to put it plainly, but if you would like a more precise, you are in our own personal village for kids orphaned by the war." Zuko looked around at the now sadden faces of the children, then at Hara. "Oh," was all he could say.

"If you would like," Hara started again, "you can sty here for the time being. With all the rain, it must not be fun traveling." He laughed and looked back at Zuko, who nodded.

Hara said that Zuko could stay with Oguri and Masahiro for the time being. Two boys came up to Zuko, and introduced themselves. A tall one with tan skin, dark hair, and brown eyes shook Zuko's hand, and called himself Masahiro. The other was a little shorter and paler with long dark curly hair that shaded his blue eyes. He hit Zuko hard on the back, and pointed to himself as he told him his name was Oguri. Zuko was scared at first, after all, these kids lived in the woods, and they probably ate less than he did. The kids scattered off, and Zuko followed Oguri and Masahiro to there lodgings.

"So Zuko," Oguri asked as he lay down on a hammock, "Why were you in the woods I the first place?" Masahiro sat down on a messed up bed at the other end of the room. The boys' looks may have seemed a bit similar, but they were actually very different. Zuko carried in his pack from the ostrich horse, and looked around as he spoke. "I was following a thief. Whoever it was stole my money, and they kidnapped a little girl in the process." Oguri and Masahiro stared at him for a moment, then Masahiro asked, "Was this girl young, with dark hair and eyes?" Zuko nodded, and the boys began to crack up. Now completely confused, Zuko asked what was so funny. Oguri stopped laughing long enough to explain.

"You, my friend, are a proud victim of Ayumi," Zuko was still confused as he began laughing, again. Masahiro explained further, "Ayumi is the best thief around. She uses a little girl, Tsubaki, to lure victims, and then, when she has the perfect shot, she grabs the loot, and the girl, and runs back here."

"Here?" Zuko questioned. The boys nodded.

"We can take you to her," Masahiro said as he and Oguri got up. They led him out and up to a house a few meters away. They came up to the door, and opened it after they had knocked. They walked in on a group of girls sitting on the floor. Zuko recognized Kojima, but the others were new to him.

One was skinny and pale with dark blue eyes, and curly blonde hair. The one to her right was a little tanner, with light blue eyes, and light brown hair pulled back in a braid on the top of her head. Next was a girl with brown eyes, fluffy brown hair, and was also skinny. Following her was a girl with short blonde hair and blue eyes. The next girl had glasses, like Kojima, but blue eyes with frizzy brown hair. The last girl had fluffy dark brown hair, and two different colored eyes; one was green the other was blue.

"Hey, Ayumi," Oguri said. He pointed to Zuko and said, "Looks like your latest victim followed you home." The girl with the braid shot her head up, and looked at Zuko, with a shocked expression. "You have gotta be kiddin' me! No way!" The girl to the left of her exclaimed as she stood up. She was only a little shorter than Zuko. The girl walked up to Zuko and looked him in the eye. "That's not possible," she said.

"Well," Masahiro interrupted, "He did get lost. Kojima brought him here. So technically, if Kojima hadn't done that, Ayumi would have gotten away, again." Th girls all looked at Kojima, then at Zuko. Zuko looked at the girl standing by him, and stated, "So your Ayumi, give me back my money." The girls laughed and the girl he addressed said, "I'm not Ayumi. I am Endoh. That," The pointed to the girl with the braid, "is Ayumi." Zuko looked at her. He kept repeating to himself, that of all the things impossible here, that was it. Ayumi stood up, too, and walked over to the boys. Next to Zuko, she was about half a foot shorter, and a few inches shorter than Oguri. She looked so innocent. There was no way that she was the thief, but Zuko was wrong. He looked at her clothes, and recognized his coat.

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So now you know his thief, but behind that innocent face, who is she. Find out in chapter 3! 


	3. Chapter 3

_Zeeva: Hey everybody! Hey, can I as you all a Q, before I do the disclaimer? Why is it that you don't leave reveiws? I like to hear waht you all say! Not to mention, I got more hits on this than on my other avatar story. Make me happy, please R&R!_

_Ayumi: Z?_

_Zeeva: Yeah?_

_Ayumi: Just do the disclaimer, and stop whining. It's not your fault that the world is messed up._

_Zeeva: KK! I do not own Avatar: the Last Air Bender, or any or it's characters, but I do own all the rest._

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Chapter 3: Deceived

No, this wasn't possible. They kids must have played a prank on him. Trying to fool him. The girl looked too childish to steal from anyone. She walked in a circle around Zuko, and examined him, then said, "Yep." Even her voice was childish. She couldn't have been over the age of 10! When she stopped her vulture circle of the new guy, she stood right in front of him. Zuko thought she was short before, but now she was looking directly up, as he looked straight down.

With a "better" view of her, Zuko could tell that she was skinny, and his coat on her was gargantuan. She looked like a little girl trying on her father clothes. Masahiro and Oguri walked over to the girl, and gave her a hug. She hugged in return, but didn't let her eye off Zuko. "So is he your victim, Ayumi?" Oguri asked, a little surprised at the situation. Masahiro was the same, and he looked over to a waving Endoh. The girl with the two different eyes walked over, she was in-between the height of the other two girls, and very curvy. She looked over Zuko, just as Ayumi did, and smiled. She put out her hand and told him, "Hey, I'm Emi." Zuko shook her hand, and she stood next to Ayumi, who was about ready to show him her true colors.

"So you caught me," she said, her childish voice growing up about 5 years. She poked his chest, and stated, "You followed your thief, not sure if it was a little girl, or a muscular grown man. That either means that you are very brave, or incredibly stupid." She walked away, and Zuko gave her a look of annoyance. He followed her, and spun her towards him. He reached out his hand, and demanded his belongings back. She looked at his hand, then at his face. After that comment, He was sure she was the thief, but he still thought she was young enough that he could intimidate her. Again, he was wrong. She removed his coat, revealing that it definitely was big. Under the coat, she was skinny, but she was about as curvy, if not more, than Emi.

She had been wearing a blue tank top under the coat, and she had three necklaces around her neck. She handed him the coat, and told him, "I'll give this back, as for the money I stole, that's mine." She walked into a room, after telling everyone that she was going to leave for a bit, making the room hush over.

Zuko stared at the now closed door, and he felt two people grab his arms. Emi and Endoh turned him around. Masahiro was looking at the door, too, when Oguri broke the silence of the room by saying, "I think she likes you." Everyone looked at Oguri; he cleared his throat, and began his introductions of the girls. The other girl with glasses was Hasagawa, the one with fluffy brown hair was Watari, and the last girl was Endoh's sister, Asuka.

The girls began to leave, one by one, until only Endoh and Emi were left. They were Ayumi's roommates, so they weren't leaving for a while. Masahiro and Oguri stayed with the girls, and Zuko was afraid to venture in this madhouse on his own. Masahiro flirted with Endoh, and Emi was talking about the arrangements for Zuko. Zuko sat in the corner of the room on a poorly crafted chair, most likely built by one of the girls. Ayumi had come out of the room earlier, with her own blue coat now over her top, and told the group that she was going to the river. The others saw her off and stayed behind.

The conversation of everyone, not including the secluded Zuko, turned to something that Zuko had not seen coming. "Ayumi told that her water bending has really improved since she started practicing at the river. I guess with the fast current, it makes her work harder, so calm water is easier to control," Emi started. The others nodded and agreed to the statement. Zuko went over to listen more. Endoh added on to her friend's comment by saying, "And she probably trains with Watari. Since they are both water benders, it must make it easier on both of them. As for my bending, it sucks. I can't practice with anyone. On the other hand, Emi, your can, there are a good amount of earth benders, but you just don't practice." Emi smiled at that last part, and looked over to Zuko, who was now a bit confused.

"Endoh, was it?" He asked, "Are you a fire bender?" Endoh gave him a harsh look and replied, "No way am I one of those over grown, idiotic matches. I'm a bit different. You see, I was born on a neutral island, and my parents, Hasagawa's and mine I should say, and fire benders killed them when the island attacked. My sister and I were sent to an orphanage on the island. We were about six when they made us evacuate the island, because they wanted to save the children, and here I am now. My family may have been neutral, but I was a bender, in fact, I was the only bender. For some odd reason, there had not been benders in my family for about a hundred, or so years. I was the first, and besides the avatar, the only."

Zuko was now very confused. She couldn't possibly mean, "I'm an air bender," she finished. She did mean it. Zuko looked at her with a look of utter astonishment; Masahiro had to hit his head to snap him out of it. She was right, with that as her element, the only person she could train with was the avatar, and as far as Zuko knew, the avatar was long since gone looking for an earth-bending master. He would be nowhere near here. Masahiro put his arm around her and told Zuko that that was how most of the kids came to live here. Not necessarily from that orphanage, but from their parents being killed, because of the war. Zuko bowed his head. He couldn't tell them about why he was traveling, at least not the truth. If none o the kids knew who he was, or what he was for that matter, they would let him stay.

Emi looked out the window. They had been talking for almost three hours now, and the boys needed to go back to their house. They said their good- byes, and left. Emi giving everyone hugs, including Zuko, who wished she hadn't. When the boys were gone, the girls left as well, and headed towards the river, to check on Ayumi. She had said she would be back in a short amount of time, but three hours was not a short amount of time. The girls had been friends for years, and they knew Ayumi well enough to say that she had gotten caught up in a new technique.

The boys in the village didn't let the girl fight, no matter how good they were. Emi, Endoh, and Ayumi didn't approve of it. Thou Endoh and Emi didn't want to fight, Ayumi hated the fire nation more than anyone on the woods did, because her parents were more than killed by the fire nation, they were tortured, and Ayumi had had a front view seat.

The girls approached their friend at the river, and were drenched in the first few seconds. They had been right about the technique, and Watari practicing with her.

Watari wanted to fight, too, but she wanted to fight because not only did the fire nation kill her parents, but her little brother when they were on the run. She needed to avenge her brother, before she joined him.

Watari and Ayumi were working together to control a wave, when the other girls surprised them and they turned around, soaking the girls with the giant wave. Thou Endoh didn't have a teacher, she taught herself, and for that, she was exceptional. She dried her and Emi off, and told the girls of their day with the boys. Ayumi and Watari could only laugh. Emi and Endoh weren't boy crazy, but when they had the opportunity to be with a boy, they would take it with no hesitation. As for Ayumi and Watari, boys were one of the last things on their minds. They only time they did think of boys were when they were trying to prove that they were better than they were.

They didn't believe that boys being greater because they were boys, as a matter of fact, the girls' favorite pastime was beating the boys at everything. What one lost at the other would win with flying colors, but together they beat the boys, every time. Ayumi was stronger, than Watari, but Watari was more patient and calm, when she wasn't mad. Ayumi had the temper of a fire bender, and the attention spanned of a rodent. Watari was faster than Ayumi, but Ayumi solve almost any puzzle with time. They were each other's Ying and yang. With out the other, the woods would only perish. With both of them, they would control each other, for the most part.

But, of all the things the girls all agreed on hating, "Oh girls!" Another female voice called out from the trees. The only thing they all absolutely hated, where the other group of girls in the woods. The owner of the voice stepped out from the trees, followed by a group of around ten more girls. The girls all wore skirts and light colors, compared to the Ayumi, Watari, Emi, and Endoh; they were stereo type damsels. The lead girl, who had short black hair and dark brown eyes that matched her perfectly tanned skin, walked up to Ayumi and said, in a very feminine tone, "We get the river now." Ayumi looked at the girl, she was about Emi's height, and said, "Ok," then followed her response with another wave, knocking the girl off her feet, and onto the muddy ground.

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_Cliffy! I hate cliffies, but I know it'll make you come back for more if I do them! (works when people do it to me all the time!)_

_So what wil happen when the girls face off? And Will Zuko treat Watari and Ayumi like girls? R&R_

_P.S.There was no pun intended by Watari being a water bender. Her full name is Saruwatari, the girl's, and everyone else, just call her Watari for short. So no flamers on that. Watari got her name before she became my second water bender._

_P.P.S. for those reading my other story, Avatar: The Earth Girl's Secret, I'll try to update asap, but my week/weekend were hectick to the extreme, so I didn't get to worl on them, and when I work on 2 stories in the same day, I get all scewed up, so, sorry, if it's a little late._


	4. Chapter 4

He di ho! Chapter 4. I change the title. Original it was going to be "Ying vs. Bitch" But i thought that was a little over board. So this is the next best thing, lol.

Disclaimer: I do not own Avatar the last air bender, or any of it's characters, but i do own all of the kids in the wood. (not da hood. lol)**

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**Chapter 4: Dog vs. Witch**

"There's your river, now get lost," Watari added on to her friend's action. The girl got up, with the help of some of her companions. She looked at Ayumi and Watari. This stare was not new to the girls. In fact, their whole argument wasn't new to them. This went back further than today. The girls had been having their own civil war, going back to when Ayumi and the other girl, Nakashima, first met. This was when everyone else in the woods realized that even five-year-olds can build rivalries.

Nakashima pulled her arms away from the other girls, and stormed up to Ayumi. Ayumi and Watari smirked. They _never_ lost whether it was to boys, or girls. Nakashima sighed, and smacked Ayumi across the face.

Everyone else gasped, as Ayumi slowly turned her head towards Nakashima, this was it. When Ayumi threw a hit, everyone new that that was normal, but when Nakashima threw one back, the fight had truly begun. Watari stood back with Emi and Endoh. She could only watch as the girls fought, she was only a bystander after Nakashima threw her blow. The girls exchanged smirks, and began to circle.

Ayumi lightly smacked Nakashima on her check, and Nakashima did the same back. When Ayumi gave her third smack, Nakashima lunged towards her, knocking her to the ground. She pulled at Ayumi's braid, making it even messier than it was prier, and Ayumi punched her across the face. The girls rolled down to the water, and now Ayumi was on top, continuing to punch her opponent across her "perfect" face. The fight continued for a while making the girls shriek, swear, hit, and scream.

There comes a time, even in the village the children inhabited, that sound and noise came to a low point. The noise would cease, and the woods' sounds would take over. Tonight, like some other nights, the woods' sounds including the screams of two girls. Becoming aware of the noise, Hara ran to Masahiro, Oguri, and Zuko's house. Masahiro and Oguri were always the ones splitting up the girls. Even thou Oguri loved seeing two girls fight especially Ayumi. With how many times Hara had to remind him to break it up, the girls could have made enough money to rebuild the village.

The boys, including Zuko, who was a little, confused, ran down to the river. Zuko had never knew girls to fight the way the other boys described. They arrived just as the girls were attempting to pin each other down under the water. Once again, Hara had to remind Oguri why he was there in the first place. He and Masahiro went over to the girls and separated them. Oguri had back Nakashima, who had a bruised cheek, the left one, Ayumi was right handed, a bloody nose, and bruises up both her arms. Ayumi was being held back by Masahiro, who was using all his strength to do it. He picked her up to keep her from jumping Nakashima again. She now had a bloody lip, a black eye, a bloody fist, and all of her hair had fallen down.

"Break it up, girls," Hara commanded as he stepped in between them. Ayumi was now being lifted a foot off the ground, and still trying to fight free. She finally gave in, and Masahiro put her down. "Looks like the _dog_ is going to give up first. Good choice, Mutt," Nakashima said, still being held back by Oguri. Ayumi jumped towards her, but was caught in mid air by Masahiro, who now had his arms wrapped around her waste. Ayumi was small, but strong. Oguri let go of Nakashima, and she walked over to Ayumi, "Go back to the pound, where you, and the rest of those _dogs_ you call _friends_, belong."

"While I'm there, why don't you go back to that cave in the mountain, you witch!" Ayumi suggested. Nakashima looked at her disgusted then went to leave, but not before noticing Zuko. Not wanting him to see her in her present state, she merely waved, and winked. "That bitch," Watari said staring towards the area of exit. Masahiro let go of Ayumi again, and Ayumi used her arm to wipe away the blood on her lip. Zuko stared, startled at the girl, and then noticed the very bloody fist. "We need to get you to a hospital, or something," he said, trying not to sound worried. Zuko normally wouldn't care, but he noticed that after the departure from his uncle, he had started to take on some of his traits, such as caring and worrying for people that he usually wouldn't.

Ayumi lifted her fist, to get a better look at it, and this made Endoh begin to worry. "Ayumi! That Is _REALLY_ Bad! We Need To Get You To The Medical House!" Ayumi didn't say a word. Still looking at her fist, this also surprised Zuko. Any other girl he had met would have either screamed, or fainted at the wound, but not Ayumi. In fact, she smirked and let out a little laugh. "I'll be fine," she assured everyone. Endoh, who didn't believe a word of it, put her hands on her hips, but before she could say something, Ayumi explained, "This isn't mine. If you didn't see, on Nakashima, there is a nice big cut on her upper arm, from where I kept hitting her. If anyone needs to go to the medical house, she does. _I'll_ be fine. She laughed again, and gestured for everyone to follow her back to the village.

Ayumi was something else _that_ was for sure. She didn't hesitate to fight, or make rude comments, she was an excellent thief, the best for that matter, and she was no where near feminine. On the way back, she spat about three times into the woods, and declared that no one could beat her distance. Of course, Masahiro and Oguri, were being who they are, and tried. Ayumi was right, they couldn't beat her. Zuko knew, even if his sister was a great warrior, a prodigy, if she had received the wounds Ayumi did, her first stop would be the infirmary. Ayumi on the other hand, refused to go to the medical house, and it wasn't because she was scared, it was because she believed she was fine.

Everyone returned home, and Masahiro and Oguri, they spent he whole night complaining about Ayumi's stubbornness. Zuko, however, fell "asleep," and spent the night thinking about the new people he had met, in the new place he was in, and he wondered if everyday here would be this hectic.

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Can you answer Zuko's question? And is Ayumi really "fine?" What will Nakashima do now? Will she make a move on Zuko when she is all cleaned up? Who knows! (Well, I do, but I'm not gonna tell!) R&R! 


	5. Chapter 5

_Yellow! Hey guys, sorry this took longer than usually, but last week I updated my other story, after I came back from a weekend of camping with my friend (Emi). This weekend was a dance, and my uncle's graduation party (from High School, not College). Hectic I tell you Hectic, I wasn't home (and awake) for more than maybe 10 hours all weekend. Oh man. Well, I do not own Avatar: The last Air Bender or its characters, but I do own the village kids._**

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**Chapter 5: RiverBed Fun**

Zuko's eyes slowly opened as he got up from his bed on the floor. He looked around trying to remember where he was. When his memory had come back, he got up and looked out a "window." The window was nothing more than a square hole in the wall. Masahiro and Oguri were still very asleep. Oguri's arm was stretched out, and hitting Masahiro, while the rest of his body hung off the other side of his hammock. The only thing on the hammock for that matter, was his curly haired head. Masahiro on the other hand, He wasn't on his bed at all. Somehow he had managed to not only fall off the bed, but roll all the way under Oguri's hammock. Zuko couldn't help but laugh at the boys' current state.

He left the house and made his way around the village. The day and night before he wouldn't have left the boys' side, but with his guides out cold, he thought he would take his chances. He walked around some of the houses, and he realized that kids don't wake up early. He continued his walk, and he walked into _someone_ that does mornings, but not very well.

"Uh, good morning, Ayumi was it?"

Ayumi turned towards him and stated, "You would think you could remember your own thief's name." She looked at him with a very annoyed look, and walk off in the direction of the river. Socializing was not one of her strong points. He noticed how even after one night, her wounds had healed well. Her black eye was not nearly as swollen, and her lip didn't swell at all, in fact it was almost fully healed. Zuko watched her leave, and he walked back to the house, but he was stopped by another early bird.

"You're Zuko, right?" Nakashima was up. Her wounds weren't healed nearly as good as Ayumi's, but she had used make up to cover the scares on her face. Zuko nodded. Nakashima was leaning on his door, wearing a short brown skirt with a small green tank top. On thing was for sure, this meeting was not by coincident. She moved from the doorway and over to Zuko, who took a step back. She put her hand on her hip, and gave him a few butterfly kisses. "Well, judging by the silence, I was right," she said as she moved closer. Zuko took another step back, and she told him, "I hope I'll see you later." She stroked his shoulder, and left.

Zuko took a breath, which he had forgotten to do in the past moment. "Lucky you," he heard Oguri say from the window. He had been watching the whole time. "You, my friend, have found a way to charm over Nakashima. I congratulate you." Zuko sighed as Masahiro and Oguri joined him outside. "If I were you," Masahiro started, "I wouldn't tell the girls about that. You saw how much Nakashima and those other girls bother them. One word of it, and they won't kill Nakashima, but they will kill you. And you if you have any brains, you won't doubt that."

Zuko didn't doubt it; not for a second, but truth be told, he didn't like any of the girls, especially Nakashima. She was too much like his sister, whom he hated more than anything. Besides not liking the girls, he didn't have time for them. He wanted to get his money, restock, and leave as soon as he could. It wouldn't be long until someone found him out.

He had been thinking to himself, and had not noticed where he was following the boys to, Ayumi's house. 'Great,' he thought. Just from his bump into her this morning he could tell that he was the last one she wanted to see. Despite that, he followed the boys into the house. Emi and Endoh, along with the other girls from yesterday were dressed in swimsuits. Revealing swimsuits for that matter. Endoh herself was in a two piece. The girls were with some younger children as well, also in swimsuits. Zuko looked over at Masahiro and Oguri, whom were in shorts. A part of him felt that this would not end well. Emi went up to him, and asked if he was coming to the river with them. As much as he wanted to say 'no,' he nodded to the girl, and stroked the top of his head. He didn't like swimming, despised it actually, but it was amazing how hot the whether had gotten over night.

The group headed to the river, and Zuko realized that Ayumi was absent from the crowd. Remembering back to this morning, she was dressed like the boys, so there was a chance that she was already at the water. He was right. The river was a little calmer, now holding up a raft in the middle, and upon it were Ayumi and Watari, diving off. Ayumi's hair was back in a ponytail, same as Watari's. The girls had yet to notice their audience, but continued to show of to each other. Everyone watched the girls dive off, doing flips and spins. 'More competition for them, I suppose,' Zuko thought to himself. The little kids ran into the water, and one of them caught his eye as she called out to the raft.

"Ayumi, watch me!" A girl with dark hair and dark eyes yelled. It was the little girl that Ayumi had with her the night she robbed him. He watched her as she doggie paddled about five feet out, then back. "Hey, good job Tsubaki!" Ayumi yelled back with a smile on her face. She dove into the water, no stunts, and swam in towards shore. She stopped and started playing with the kids, still unaware of some of the people watching her, Zuko being one of them. "She loves kids," Emi said to him. He looked at her, a little confused of why Emi would tell him this. She realized the reaction to her statement, and explained, "The Ayumi you saw yesterday was only a part of her. The truth is, when she isn't working or fighting, Ayumi is really nice. She's funny, kind, and sweet. She just acts tough to show people that if they do anything to make her mad, she can, and will, take them down faster than a rock falls from a crumbling cliff." She smiled at Zuko, and ran into the water after Ayumi and Endoh called her in.

Zuko watched Ayumi as she moved closer to shore, and began playing with an infant in the water. Emi was right, she was kind; unlike some other people he knew. Oguri and Masahiro Came up behind him, and pushed him into the water, pulling off his open coat in the process. Everyone laughed, as Zuko glared at the boys, who he then pulled into the cold water of the river.

The day continued on this way, until Nakashima and her girls came down. She began to flirt with Zuko once again. Zuko tried to avoid her, and did a good job, for the most part. He also tried to make sure that Ayumi didn't notice her, causing another fight. That didn't seem to be a problem thou. It seemed as thou she didn't want to fight Nakashima in front of all of the children. That was understandable, no one else seemed to be worried.

The sun began to set. Nakashima and her girls had left, and the little ones began to leave as well. By late sunset, all were gone, except for Zuko, Ayumi, Endoh, Emi, Watari, and the other boys. The girls sat out on the raft, and the boys stayed in shallow water. Zuko had given up on trying to leave the water. The fifth time Masahiro, Oguri, and occasionally some younger boys pushed him in, he gave up. Ayumi and Watari had continued their diving, while Emi and Endoh lay on the raft. The fourth time Ayumi dove back in, she had finally lost her hair tie, again.

She came back onto the raft, and Endoh pointed it out. From shore, all the boys could see, was Endoh point at Ayumi, and Ayumi laugh at the matter. "Heh heh, this is the fifth hair tie I've lost this week, I should tie them in tighter," Ayumi said. She laughed again, and Emi looked towards shore, then back at Ayumi, with a smirk.

"Ayumi, you should just take off that T-shirt and swim in you suit, you diving might be better, you know I you aren't weighed down with a sopping wet shirt."

Ayumi looked at Emi and said, "If that's true, then why don't you dive in?"

Emi blushed. "Y-you know I can't dive. I'll kill myself!"

"Yeah, ok," Ayumi replied.

Emi stood up, and walked over to the edge where Ayumi stood. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"Nothing," Ayumi told her as she gestured with her arms. She then quickly pushed Emi in, and everyone laughed as she came back up. Ayumi put her hand on her chest as she stopped laughing and told her, "I will take your advice thou." She removed her wet T- shirt, showing off her curvy body in a small, tight top. Emi smirked, again, as she looked towards shore to see three boys with their eyes on the less dressed Ayumi. Once again unaware of her audience, Ayumi continued diving in. The boys got up and called the girls in. It was another late day, and Zuko had gotten no closer to getting back his money.

The boys walked to the girls' house with them, and left, but Zuko was going to get his money back. He stayed back; he was going to try to get Ayumi to give it to him. "Ayumi, I want my money back. Why do you insist on keeping it?"

"Ayumi looked at him, aggravated, and told him, "What do you care, go home." With that, she went inside and left Zuko alone. Now aggravated himself, he grunted, and walked back towards the house.

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_If Ayumi is so nice, why is she such a bich to Zuko? At this rate, will Zuko ever get his money back? And what was with all of Emi's smirks?_

_What'd ya think? R&R!_


	6. Chapter 6

_OOOOOh chapter six, chapter six, chapter six, six, six! Yay!_

_Ayumi: Z, stop. Your scaring people._

_Zeeva: I probably am. so disclaimer: I do not own Avatar: The Last Air Bender, or any of it's characters, but I do own the kids of the woods._

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**Chapter 6: The Rain is Gone**

Zuko muttered curses to Ayumi under his breath as he made his way back to the house. He wasn't going to let her get away with this that was certain. He swung the door open at full strength, making Masahiro look up, and Oguri jump, literally. Oguri was now clinging on to the ceiling. "Jeez, you scared me," Oguri said.

"No, really," Masahiro said to his little friend as he climbed down. They watched Zuko storm over to his spot on the floor, and stare at the ceiling, where Oguri seemed to have left claw marks. Masahiro looked over at him, and Oguri leaned over the end of the bed and asked, "So what happened?"

Zuko turned to his side, ignoring the question. "Oh, I get it, Ayumi still won't give you your money back, right?" Oguri said, and he smiled at his accomplishment of figuring out what was upsetting Zuko. Zuko grunted as a sign of agreement to his proclaim. "That's it?" Masahiro said, "You, my friend, should get used to disappointment. You are never going to get that money back." Zuko wouldn't agree to that, but Masahiro was right.

The next morning, Zuko stayed in until the other boys were awake; he wasn't going to chance seeing Nakashima or Ayumi in the morning. He would wait until the afternoon to get his money back, or try to anyway. When they did wake, they went out, and they ran into Hara, and his friend, Kazuma. Kazuma was a little taller than Hara; he too wore glasses like some of the girls, and his voice was high, in fact it was higher than some of the girls'. Oguri and Masahiro found him very amusing to make fun of. "Very funny," he said as Oguri stole his glasses. Zuko watched as the boys showed him how truly pitiful it was in the village. When the most amusing thing to do was steal the glasses of another kid, high pitched voice or not, it was pretty sad.

Something else caught Zuko's eye as the boys gave Kazuma back his glasses. Ayumi was walking with Kojima and Hasagawa. Zuko ignored the other boys as they got lectured by Hara, and went over to talk to Ayumi. Kojima was the first to notice him, "Hello Zuko." Something seemed a little odd to him. He guessed it was the fact that Kojima was even taller than Ayumi than he was, and Hasagawa was about an inch or so shorter than Ayumi. "Give me my money, Ayumi," he demanded. He held out his hand, and just like the day they met, she looked at his hand, then back at him. "Kojima, Hasagawa, excuse us for a moment," she told her friends. They nodded, and went over to the other boys.

'This is it,' Zuko kept thinking. He was going to get his money back, and leave before tonight. Ayumi looked back at him. Her hair was back up, and her eyes shined with annoyance at the boy. She sighed, and finally said to him, "Do you really want your money back?" Zuko looked at her, very serious, and nodded. "Hand it over."

"I don't think so," she told him flatly.

"Why not?"

"Because, you're a pain."

"Ayumi, give it to me!" He was not going to let this rest. She put her hands on her hips, and looked at him with a smirk. "I stole it, so it is rightfully mine, besides," she got up in his face, "if I were to give it back, you don't know the way out of the woods anyway. You, my freaky friend, are screwed."

Zuko gave her another stern look and told her, "I'll find my way out, now give it to me, now!" He grabbed her hand, and she smirked. Zuko was surprised, he could easily crash her fragile arm, and she was smiling. She freed his arm, taking advantage of his shock, then, at her fastest speed, kicked him in the stomach, making him fall.

"I can easily beat you, Zuko, so don't even try," she told him with an aggravated glare. He used her arm to pull himself up, and told her, "I will get my money back." A look of shock overcame her, but it didn't last long. "Arrogant twit," she said as she pushed him back down. Kojima and Hasagawa joined her again, and they started off, but not before Ayumi glared back at Zuko from over her shoulder.

"She is going to kill you if you keep that up. You realize that, right," Hara said to him. Kazuma nodded, and told him, "For some reason, Ayumi doesn't like you, and Ayumi gets along with almost everyone. The people she doesn't get along with thou, she never will. Not to mention, when you even thought that you could take her, she absolutely hated you. The last time I saw her give a glare like that to someone, it was to a fire bender soldier."

Zuko gave a quick look of fear to the boys. He held his stomach tighter as her thought about the glare that she had given him. 'Does she know?'

The boys said their good byes, and said to each other something about seeing them at dinner. Zuko didn't pay attention, if it was important, they would explain it to him later. They didn't. That night came, and Oguri and Masahiro had told him at the last minute that they were going to have a dinner with all of the other kids in the village, in celebration of the rain stopping. They told them that every year they have a meal like this. The girls dance and sing, there is alcohol that was stolen from a tavern in town, and games. Zuko was looking forward to a little of it, but he was also thinking about the girls and drinking. "Do the little kids come, too?" He asked.

"They do, but they are sent back home by the girls before it gets dark," Masahiro explained.

"The fun stuff doesn't happen 'til late, when only kids our age are there. Man, you should watch those girls dance! Nakashima and some other girls do belly dancing! But, the thing you'll probably like, is what Ayumi does, she sings. I hope she will this year. She usually sings with Emi and Endoh, they're the best." Oguri told him. The boys left Zuko, who was thinking about why Oguri would say that he would enjoy Ayumi's singing the most. 'She's a selfish little bitch,' he kept thinking, but it is amazing what a night of girls can do to a boy.

They headed off, and just Zuko's luck, they bumped into Nakashima. She and a few of her friends were dressed in revealing outfits, covered in beads and make up that made stars on their faces. They looked a lot like dancers. Zuko remembered back to when he would see dancers at his father's "parties" from when he was younger. He shook the thoughts from his head as Nakashima started to flirt once more. She ran her finger up and down his chest, and told him that she would dance later just for him. That was _just_ what he wanted.

They approached a table set up in the middle of the village, and just as the boys said, before dark all of little ones were gone, and the late night things started. Nakashima and her friends danced, Ayumi was a bar tender, and Emi and Endoh sang. Zuko had sat at the "bar" with Ayumi, still trying to convince her to give him back his money, but it wasn't going to help at all. "I'm not going to give it back, Zuko. Get over it, and fast," she told him as she gave to boys two bottles of liqueur. She rested her elbow on the counter, and placed her head on her hand. "Go get a dance from Nakashima. She's been hinting that she wanted to dance with since before you guys got here."

Ayumi got back to work while Zuko looked behind him, back at Nakashima. Ayumi was right, and Zuko couldn't take Nakashima anymore. He watched her dance, just to get her off his back. He wasn't thinking about thou. Something kept making him think about Ayumi. Just as the thought crossed his mind again, Hara called for Ayumi. He wanted her to sing. Kazuma called for her, too, and after a few drinks, his voice was even higher, if that was possible. Ayumi laughed, and got in front of everybody, along with Emi and Endoh. They sang a classic song, one that Zuko's uncle used to sing, but they were much better.

The night came to an end; Masahiro and Zuko had to carry Oguri back to the house. He had had about ten drinks too many. That night was different than the others. Normally, Zuko went to sleep thinking about how he would get his money back, but tonight he was thinking about how good Ayumi looked as she sang. He tried to get rid of the thought, but he just couldn't, he just couldn't.

Zuko was not the only one thinking differently, but Ayumi was blaming it on the booze.

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_What is keeping Ayumi and Zuko awake? and will Zuko ever get his money back? R&R!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7, moving right along. Since I'm moving along so nicely, I thought I would tell you who some of my characters are based on (meaning they are somewhat exaggerated):_

_Ayumi: me (but she is a veryexaggerated charater, I'm no where near as good looking, or young looking for that matter, asI make her to be.)_

_Endoh: Eclipse'sChick (She's my buddy, I love 'er to death)_

_Masahiro: Eclipse'sChick's boyfriend in real life_

_Oguri: My BF (Oooh! He's my Babe & I love him soooo much!)_

_I'll give you some more in some later chapters, for now, let's get on with Chapter 7: I do not own Avatat: The Last Air bender, or any of it's characters, but I do own the kids of the woods._

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**Chapter 7: Caught**

Ayumi kept turning in her sleep. What sleep? She wasn't sleeping. She got up, and looked over at Emi and Endoh. They, on the other hand, were out cold. Ayumi got out of bed, wearing a long sleeve shirt and a pair of short shorts, and went outside. The cool air would clear her head, she hoped. She kept telling herself that it was the booze, but she had some how managed to stretch one drink out to last the entire night. She shook her head, and pushed back her hair, which was down and kept falling into her face. She looked up to the full moon, and stared for a while.

A noise came from the bushes, and she spun around. Ready for attack, she went over to the bush. She looked over, and fell back when Zuko shot up. "Aaahhh!" They both yelled. "What the hell are you doing out here!" She shouted at him. "Me? What are you doing out here?" He asked back.

"What does it matter to you?"

"If it doesn't matter to me than it shouldn't matter to you, now should it?"

"Grrrr…" Ayumi said as she stormed off. "I'm going thieving, I'll be back." With that she left the village, leaving Zuko alone. "Brat," he muttered under his breath. That was what she was, and all she would ever be to him, a brat. He headed back to the house.

Ayumi went over to a small house, and knocked on the door. A girl about the age of 13 answered the door. "Haruko, is Tsubaki here?" The girl nodded while she rubbed her eye. She had short, light brown hair with bangs that covered her pretty brown eyes. She went back into the house and came back with Tsubaki, who was rubbing her eyes, too. "We're going out tonight, you ready?" Tsubaki nodded as she yawned. Ayumi patted her on the head, and they head out into the woods.

They entered the town, Tsubaki riding on Ayumi's back. Looking around, Ayumi's eye caught an old man. He had long gray hair, with the beard to match. Ayumi put Tsubaki down, and told her to ask the old man for money. Tsubaki nodded, and ran towards the man,

"E-excuse me," she said. The old man turned around. "Why, hello, little one. What are you doing out here at this hour?"

Tsubaki looked down at her feet, then at the man, "Do- do you have any money, sir?" The man let out a chuckle, and took out a pouch and began to look through it. "Good job, Tsubaki," Ayumi said as she pulled a hood on over her head. She readied her stance, and bolted out of the bush. She picked up Tsubaki up by the waste, and the old man's pouch, but she didn't keep running. The old man had grabbed her by the wrist.

"Well, what do we have here?" He said.

Ayumi glared at the old man then looked to Tsubaki. "You seem to be caught, let the girl go, and give me back my money." Ayumi freed her wrist, and ran to the woods, but for once, she was too slow. The old man cut her off in the woods and grabbed her, again. She looked back at him, scared. 'Who is this old man?' she continuously asked herself. She turned towards Tsubaki, "RUN, TSUBAKI, RUN!" She ordered the little girl. "And don't tell anyone what happened!" Tsubaki looked at the old man, with very worried eyes. She wasn't far from bursting into tears. At this rate, neither was Ayumi, but she couldn't show this man any fear. "TSUBAKI!" She yelled again. Tsubaki ran towards the village.

Ayumi tried to free herself again, but to no prevail. She looked at her captor, anger, confusion, fear, all in her eyes. "Let go of me, please," she whined. The old man held out his hand, and asked in a calm voice, "May I have my money back, please?" There was no anger in his voice. This confused Ayumi even more. He released her, and looked at her with kind eyes. She looked back at him, still very confused. "I heard about you in the town back there. I had arrived this morning. Some men told me about a thief that roamed in the woods. They, however, told me that you were a boy." Ayumi blushed and looked at the ground. This was the first that anyone had ever seen her, besides Zuko. Thinking she was a boy wasn't a surprise. It annoyed her, but didn't surprise her. She glared at the man, and he continued, "I have to say, I am very impressed."

"You should be. It took me ten years to get that could. But apparently, I can improve."

The man laughed, "That long? How old are you?"

"Fifteen."

"Good job."

Ayumi had continued to glare at the old man this whole time. "Who are you?"

"May name is Iroh," he told her.

"Iroh, huh? Well Iroh, I'm impressed by you. You are the first person to ever catch me. I was followed not to long ago, by my last victim, but I lost him in the woods first."

Iroh laughed again, "Really. Judging by that, you must be very determined."

"In a sense."

"Hmm… You remind me of my nephew," Iroh told her.

Ayumi looked at him, surprised, "really?"

"Yes, he, too, is very determined. I've been looking for him."

"He ran off?"

Iroh nodded, "Not too long ago."

"Sounds like a pain to me. Are you sure I remind you of him?"

Iroh laughed once more. The sun began to rise, and the two realized they had to depart.

"Well, I have to be on my way. It was a pleasure meeting you, umm…"

"Ayumi." She held out the pouch, and gave it to him.

"Well, I would have forgotten from all this, so why are you giving it back?" Iroh asked.

"Because, thief or not, you are the first to catch me. Anyone that can do that, deserves respect." She smiled at him, and he smiled back. "I hope you find your nephew," she said. Iroh turned towards her, his golden eyes shined as they hit the sunlight. "Thank you," he said, and with that he headed out of the woods. Ayumi was caught on his golden eyes. "Nah," she said to herself, and she turned to go back to the village, when she heard a scream.

From where she was in the middle of the woods, she knew it was Endoh. She ran back and was blocked by a crowed of kids. She could hear Tsubaki crying and Watari cursing. 'What the hell is going on?' Ayumi thought. She was able to make her way enough to see what it was, and long enough to hold back her dinner. In front of her friends, was a burned body.

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_What is going on? Is Ayumi dead or...?_

_R&R!_


	8. Chapter 8

Awsome, I am an updating machine! 3 chapters posted in 20 minutes! Nice. Clears throat Here are some more characters:

Kojima: Safako (Her hieght is actually very literal)

Hasagawa: My little buddy, Angie (Her hieght is 2)

Emi: Hooker Jay! Or Jay Jay as I callher (her eyes aren't exaggerated either. That is a real thing, creepy, but real)

Asuka (Endoh's sister): Eclipse'sChick's sister

Tsubaki: My 5 year-old cousin, Thalia. (I'm hoping to add her little sister, Aurora, she's 5 months or so, in later chapters)

See?Cool, huh? Disclaimer: I do not Avatar: The LAst Air Bender, or any of it's characters, but I do own the kids of the woods.**

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**Chapter 8: A Burned Past**

'Wha?' Ayumi thought. She made her way closer, listening to conversations, but one caught her ear the most.

"That idiot!" Watari yelled. Endoh was crying her eyes out, and Emi held her, covering her own tears. Kojima and Hasagawa were clinging on to each other, crying hard. Watari was yelling at the corpse as her held back her own tears. Tsubaki was holing her hands over her mouth as tears flowed from her eyes. "I told her this would happen!" Endoh shrieked, choking on tears.

"That moron! That, that imbecile! She, she knew that she should have told us!"

"I'm sorry!" Tsubaki yelled, "She told me not to tell!" If Ayumi was ever confused, and she was most of the time, this beat them all. She stood behind her friends. Even Masahiro and Oguri were gathered around the body. Zuko, was no where to be found, but it didn't phase her. What did phase her was her friend's reaction to the body. "That bitch," Ayumi heard Nakashima yell. Even she was trying to hold back tears. "She did this to get out of fighting me. What the hell, Ayumi!" She yelled at the body.

Ayumi looked up. "Hey!" She yelled at Nakashima, "What the hell are you talking about?" Everyone looked down at Ayumi, who was no examining the crispy corpse. "Ayumi!" All of her friends cheered as they hugged her all at once. Watari smacked her across the face, and as Ayumi turned towards her, hand on the stinging cheek, Watari explained her action. "What the hell, Ayumi! You go and leave with no look out, then send back Tsubaki with a friggin' look of terror on her face! Then the body is found, you gave us a heart attack!"

"Oh, about the leaving thing, yeah. I'm sorry, but you guys were so asleep, I thought a quick run would be okay. As for Tsubaki, she was scared, because the guy I robbed caught me, but it was all right. He was nice; I gave him his money back for catching me." Watari hit her, again, then gave her another hug.

Everyone was now very confused. If Ayumi was here, who was the body? Ayumi looked over the body, and looked at the rest of the kids. "If you had any skill, or common sense for that matter, you could have found out on your own that this body is male." She showed that the shape of the body was obviously a man from the lack of curves. She continued that search, but she couldn't place the body, until Endoh showed Ayumi what had been around the corpse's neck that had led them to think it was she.

"Endoh!" Ayumi exclaimed as she took the object. It was a necklace that was the same as Ayumi's, a half of a Ying yang. The only difference was that Ayumi's was the black side, and the other one was the white side. She commanded everyone to go back to his or her homes. It was late, and she would tell them the out come of the autopsy in the morning, but already knew who it was.

When everyone was gone, Ayumi went down to the river. She sat on the shore, and she cried into her arms, still holding onto the white side of the necklace. She thought she was alone, more alone now than ever. Her grip tightened on the string of the necklace, and her crying was harder. She never cried. She wanted to at times, but never after a fight, or a loss, or hen someone made fun or her, not even when she was really scared. What did make her want to cry was death. She held back her tears in the woods, thinking Iroh would kill her. The last time Ayumi ever cried was when her family was killed by the fire nation. From then on, she knew nothing could ever be as awful, but she was wrong.

"Ayumi?" A voice called to her. She looked behind her to see where Zuko stood. She wiped her tears away, put on a serious face, and tried her best not to make eye contact with him. "Ayumi, I thought you were…"

"I'M NOT DEAD!" She yelled.

He took a step back and told her, "All right, I leave then." He began to walk away, and Ayumi began to cry again. He stopped, and looked over his shoulder at the weeping girl. He sighed an angry sigh as his uncle's traits were taking over him, again; he had to know what was wrong with her. He turned around and sat next to her, his eye catching a glimpse of the necklace in her hands. "Do you know who it was?" He asked. He saw her nod, her head still in her arms.

She looked at him, not caring if he saw the tears stream down her face. Zuko looked back into her eyes. The tears made her look so young, so innocent. He remembered back to when he had first met her. How deceiving she was. She wasn't deceiving now; she was just vulnerable. She realized what she was doing, and turned away. "Who was it?" Zuko asked. He had a feeling that it was an old friend of hers, but he thought may be it would make her feel better to tell him. She rubbed her eyes, and asked him in a aggravated tone, "What do you care? I thought all you wanted was your money."

This was true, but at the moment, Zuko's uncle's traits wanted to know what was wrong. "Normally, that would be right, but I- I want to, you know, help."

Ayumi looked back at him, and relaxed a bit. She looked out to the water, then at the necklace, "This necklace, it was made by my mother, when I was born. She gave me the dark side, because I looked so much like my father. Do you know why I steal?"

Zuko nodded and said, "To support the children."

Ayumi looked at him and explained, "That, and because it reminds me of my father. Everyone thinks I'm good, but my father was the best. He stole from a fire noble man once. He split the money among the people of the town, well as a thief. He was known as the Blue Moon Bandit. It's a corny name, I know, but he was named that because he used water bending, and he didn't rob as much as I do, he would go thieving once in a while. You see, my mother thought he was a dark and mysterious person, because no one knew who he truly was. She thought I might grow up to be the same. I guess I proved her right, huh?"

Zuko nodded, with a slight smile.

"The other half of the necklace was giving to somebody else. It was given to…" She trailed off and once again tightened the grip of the string. Zuko put his hand on her shoulder. She brushed it off, and continued, "It was given to my older brother. He was ten years older than I was, because his father, wasn't my father. His father was a quiet, kind, and nice musician. He played instruments, and he sang. He was always optimistic, but I never got to meet him.

"The whole reason my mother remarried was because a fire nation soldier killed her first husband. She needed someone to help her care for my brother. When she met my father, he was eight. I was born two years later. My mother believed, that my father, and my brother's father were two halves of a whole, and she believed my brother and I would be the same. That's what the necklace symbolized.

"Three years later, my brother left us to join the army. He wanted to avenge his father's death. My parents and I thought he had died in war, because a year after he went, we never heard from him again. That year, fire nation soldiers invaded our village. They killed my parents, no. They didn't kill them, they tortured them, right in front of my eyes." Zuko looked at her, shocked. What else could he say? She lost her whole family, and her brother's father to the fire nation, it was no wonder she hated them so much.

"I saw them rape and murder my mother, from whom I got my brown hair," she said as she took down her hair. It was a beautiful chestnut brown, with lighter brown streaks from the light of the sunrise. "I saw them slowly break every bone in my father's body, ending with his neck. They then remove his eyes, his caring blue eyes, the blue eyes that we shared." She looked up at Zuko, her blue eyes looking bluer than ever. "Now," she began to choke on her tears that were resurfacing; "now, 16 years later, I know that my brother was alive. He was probably looking for me, but he, too, was murdered by a fire bender." She curled back up, and began to cry into her arms, again.

Zuko didn't know what to do, but before he could think of something, his arm had already put itself around her shoulders. She didn't look up at him, and he didn't want him to. If she knew, if she knew about him, she would kill him. She wouldn't hesitate; she would kill him right there on the spot. They didn't move. Zuko kept his arm around her, and she cried. She cried for an hour and for an hour the only thing Zuko could hear were her cries, and a little voice telling him, "The body is a sign. They will attack."

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_Who will attack, and when? Sad chapter, I know, I'm sorry, but in my stories, for every sad part, there is a happy ending! R&R!_

_I forgot to add a person, or two:_

_Hara: My friend Charles (he really does look like he popped out of the wizard of Oz)_

_Kazuma: Ray (He thinks I'm just the cutest little thing, and for a senior, he is SQUEAKY!)_


	9. Story ideas

Ok guys, this is, like, corny to the extreme, but here are some story ideas that I've been thinking of. I have them on my profile, but no one has told me what they think, so... I'm gonna put them up as like a "added feature." It kinda tells you what may be comming out in the futre, so tell me what you think, but I already know it is pretty stupid of me to do, so don't tell me what I already know. (By the by, I do not own any of these "original" shows or movies. That's my "Disclaimer")

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Avatar: The Last Air Bender:

Avatar: Improv- Zuko meets two Earth Kingdom boys that are about as demented as they can get. One is a huge pervert and thinks of himself as a god, and the other is a troublemaker. What's Zuko gotten himself into now? When the boys sneak into a theatre to see a show, they can't help but want to drag Zuko backstage to "meet the cast." After a prank, the boys run off leaving Zuko alone. When he meets the actress who plays the villianess, he learns that you can't judge anyone, and that you don't have to be an actor to practice improvisation!

Avatar: The Garden- A group of kids in a village are known as the garden. They steal, prank, and are known for trouble. Their name was given to them, after their own names, the leader, Rose, her genius little brother, Sunny, and her friends, Lilly, Lilac, Sprout, Oak, and Violet. When a girl in her village gets "dirt" (no pun intended) on Rose, she's forced to leave the Garden, her friends, and her only family, Sunny. On her voyage she is mugged, and takes shelter in a cave, that is found after it begins to pour, by Zuko and Iroh. Iroh tells her that she shouldn't be left in such a state, and that she is to come with them. Will she ever return to the garden, or for that matter, how can she travel with Zuko! And what happens when the girl who got dirt on Rose, starts to take over the village, with the help of the Fire Nation!

Avatar: Rose on a Gravestone- Janie was always happy. She never seemed to get mad, even thou others in her situation might. After all, at the age of 4, she lost all of her family to the fire nation, she was sent to an orphanage, where she still is after 12 years. As if being in the orphanage isn't bad enough, thou the owner's daughter is sweet and kind; he himself is wicked, making Janie, his daughter, and all the other orphans work non-stop! Yet, through it all, no one has ever seen Janie mad, upset, cry, or sad for one moment. But after an ex-prince and his uncle come to the orphanage, Janie just hasn't been the same.

Full Metal Alchemist:

Dead Girl Walking: In England, Al makes Ed go to a carnival with him. (Yippee) About an hour after they arrive, Al runs off leaving Ed alone. While roaming, Ed gets an odd welcoming. A girl dressed in black runs up to him thinking that he is his father! After telling her that he's not his father, she cuts him off, by telling him that he looks not only just like his father, but his mother, and Alphonse! Noa had told Ed of gypsies that can read minds, but this girl is different, she can see the dead!

Only Partners: Edward had heard of these "Alchemic accomplices." They were people that couldn't use alchemy, but studied it, and because they studied it, they studied all types of it. They were sent to help alchemists on the battlefield. Yeah, he knew what they were, but what he didn't know, was that they could be so cute!

Fruits Basket:

Free Maiden Butterfly- Yuki's first cousin, Kotoko, is moving back to Japan from America. A year younger, she knows everything about everything about her family's curse. Could she possibly know the secret to break it? What happens when she tells of an unknown cursed member of the Zodiac? And what could happen if the school bully starts to fall for her?

Disney: (long story, don't ask)

My Turn (Treasure Planet): Jim's mom had been seeing a man while he was gone, and she has now remarried. She had another child too; a little girl named Sam. Only a few months younger, she became the best friend of Amelia and Dr. Delbert's children, Jennifer, Elizabeth, Abigail, and Jonathan. Now 16, Sam is ready to embark on her own adventure. Jim is moved out, and now dating a girl named Lindsey, but he still tells her no. Not letting it rest, Sam is about to find her own way to travel the universe, with the help of her friends, and an old friend of Jim's, Long John Silver.

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Ok, so tell me what you think, & I'll let you know what I'm gonna write & Post!

Thank you,

Zeeva


	10. Chapter 9

**Yeah! I updated! Man, you guys, I am soo sorry for the wait. It's not that this was a long chapter, in fact, it is quite short, but it's summer now. i went camping in maine last week, so I couldn't update then, and the week before that, I had to clean the camper! Oooh, man, but now that is over, I have more problems: I babysit 2 days a week now (8 hour days) at my aunt's place, and I go camping at my seasonal camper every weekend. Oooh, who would think the summer would be rougher than school? **

**Well anyways: I do not own Avatar: The Last Air Bender, but I do own the kids of the woods.

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Chapter 9: Not Quite Right

The sun was fully risen. Zuko could hear the noises from the awakening children from the village. He looked back into the woods behind him and Ayumi, keeping his arm around her. "You can let go of me now," she told him. He did, and she stood up, wiping her eyes and fixing her clothes.

She looked down at him, and told him, "This stays between us, ok? This never happened. I was cleaning my hands at the river, and you showed up as I was leaving, understood? And also, I'm still not going to give you back _my_ money." Zuko looked up at her, and with a look in-between aggravation and confusion, nodded. Ayumi left, leaving Zuko alone by the river.

He thought to himself. So many things filled his mind. The body, for one. Whoever left it there, the fire nation most likely, would be back. The questions were, who was it, when were they coming, and most of, why did they do it? All of this confused him, but the thing that was confusing him the most, was Ayumi. Zuko knew she hated him, but that look she gave him before she left, it wasn't like the others. It wasn't a glare, nor was it a look of sadness. It didn't even show anger or hatred to the boy. Her look was more of a… smile? No, it couldn't be. Zuko shook his head, and started back towards the village. He hadn't slept the night before, and he was too tired to think.

When he reentered the village, Zuko saw some boys carrying away the body, and Ayumi over on the side. He could tell that she was holding back more tears. He walked back into the house he was sharing with Oguri and Masahiro and laid down on his bed on the floor. He stared at the ceiling, and fell asleep.

Ayumi made her way back home, too. She walked into see Emi and Endoh sitting on the floor playing a game. They merely looked at her, then continued. She walked into her room, looking around at everything. Her room was empty, except for her clothes, a bed, and a small box in the corner. She sat down on her bed, and opened the box. It was filled with nick-knacks and things. She added her new treasure, the other necklace. A small arrowhead caught her eye, and she picked it up. It was black, but when it captured the rays of the sun outside her window, a shine of blue light filled her room for a split second. She brought it to her face and whispered, "Dad." With a small kiss, she placed the trinket back in the box, and put the box underneath her bed.

Her time alone was diminished when she heard Endoh scream with delight; she had won. Ayumi looked out her door, and explained to her friends about the body. She had told them everything she told Zuko, only she didn't tell them that she had told Zuko. When she finished, looks of terror, sadness, and grief covered their faces. "Oh, Ayumi," Endoh said as she pulled her friend into an embrace. Emi joined them. She had finally told them, down to the very same word as she had told Zuko, but, for some odd reason, she didn't cry. Why was it that she felt comfortable enough to cry in front of Zuko, the man she despised, but not in front of her friends, her only family? She shook her head as she hugged her friends back.

The girls left the house, and went out to say hello to everyone, and stop by the river. As they walked along, Ayumi saw Oguri and Masahiro talking to Hara and Kazuma. She joined them, and questioned were Zuko was, but it didn't come out that way, "Hey, Masahiro, where's the pain, What's-His-Name, Zuko?"

"I think he's sleeping," Oguri answered for Masahiro as he pushed him aside. Ayumi looked at them, then Emi and Endoh pulled her away to talk to Kojima, Hasagawa, and Watari. She sighed as she once again told her story, and once again, the girls felt sorry for her and hugged her. She looked past her friends, and thought about how once again, she didn't cry. The girls let her go and told her that they were going to spend the night at her house, all of them. Ayumi smiled, but tonight, she wanted to be alone for a bit. She had to think. But she knew they wouldn't take "no" for an answer, so she told them it was all right.

"Oh Ayumi," Kojima said, "I'm so sorry. If everyone knew, they'd be, too."

"No, that's ok I-" Ayumi said, but no one was listening.

"Not everyone," Watari stated, "Not Nakashima and Zuko."

Ayumi's heart sank, but she didn't know why, that is, until it came around the corner.

"Speak of the devil," Emi said as she pointed to a boy with a large burn on his left eye.

"Zuko," Ayumi said under her breath. She shook her head. What was going on with her? She watched Zuko walk up to the other boys, and they greeted him as they always did, a wave from Masahiro and a punch on the shoulder from Oguri. Ayumi put on a "serious" look and started over to him, but Endoh beat her to it. She walked up to him, and questioned where he had been when the body arrived.

He told her that he was at the river, and mentioned nothing of Ayumi, just as she had said. Her look lightened for all of a second, and then she headed over. "Are you going to give me back my money now?" He asked her. She glared at him, then told him, "Of course."

Zuko looked surprised at her. Had he actually won? "Over my dead body," She finished. He knew it was too easy. She laughed, and walked away with Endoh.

What had he been thinking? The look down at the river was nothing different then every other look she gave him. He stormed off, back to the other boys, and they once more told him that it was just the way she was. He watched her leave, or more like be pushed towards her house. She looked back at him, with the same look she gave him at the river! He scratched his head, and looked back at her, the look was now a glare. Was he going insane? The boys continued their talks, but Zuko didn't care, he was stuck in his own thought, that is, until they talked about body.

"I don't know who it was, or how it got here," Hara said, "What I do know is that whoever did it doesn't like us."

"It had to have been a fire bender!" Oguri exclaimed. He crossed his arms and looked to Masahiro and Zuko for some support.

"Maybe they got the town, and threw bodies throughout the woods?" Masahiro suggested.

"Even if that is the case, they have to know that there are people in this area now. They are going to attack us, and we should be ready," Zuko finally joined them. The boys agreed with Zuko, and thought up the idea of a militia. They would gather other boys, over the age of ten, to protect everyone. Word passed, and by sun down, everyone knew about it, and of course at the girls sleep over, it was the main conversation, after all, only _boys_ could join.

They talked about it for a few hours. Hasagawa and Kojima tried to talk sense into the rest, but it was pointless. The girls had very strong thoughts about the rules, but at the mention of boys, Emi had to speak, this was bad. "Speaking of boys, Ayumi, do you ever plan on giving Zuko his money back?"

Ayumi coughed up her water, and looked at her friends, who were now all staring at her. She cleared he throat, and tried to casually explain, "Pft, Of course not. Why- why would you think I would?"

Emi looked suspiciously at her, "I never said I did. Tell me, Ayumi, by any chance, do you like Zuko?" The rest of the room looked intensely at her. She felt so nerves. Why? She didn't know, but she did know that whatever she said her friends would think differently, depending on her response. "I- I…"

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What is Ayumi's response, and is she actually smiling? R&R!

P.S: I love you guys. Your so patient!


	11. Chapter 10

**Man, sorry guys. I haven't been updating that much, not for any of my stories. When I get a break, I find something else to do, man. Well, I did update so: I do not own avatar the last airbender, or its characters, but I do own the kids in te village.

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Chapter 10:

Her friends gathered closer. Watari stepped forth, and told them, "Relax, guys. Jeez, If you huddle around her like that, you'll never get a truthful answer." The others agreed with her and backed down. Endoh repeated Emi's question, and Ayumi answered, " No. I never did, and I most certainly never will." The girls all sighed in disappointment. "That's not very romantic," Hasagawa said. Ayumi looked at her, very surprised, "What?" She asked.

Hasagawa looked back at her and said, "I thought you would say you did. If you did, that would be romantic. It'd be kinda like you keep his money, as to keep him here, but I guess not." Ayumi kept her eyes on Hasagawa as everyone said their goodnights, and went to sleep. That couldn't be it, could it?

'No!' She thought as she shook her head. She kept that money for another reason. She hated Zuko! "I hate him!" she said under her breath, "I hate him, and everyone like him!" She repeated her hatred to him, until she fell asleep.

Hate is thought to be a very strong word, a word that not only meant how much someone disliked another, but how much they wished for that person to avoid them at all costs. Did she really _hate_ Zuko? The next morning she was the last one up, or so she thought. Endoh was asleep at the other end of the room. The rest of the room was empty. She looked around, then out the window. She remembered the conversation of the night before when she saw Nakashima talking with Zuko. He seemed far from interested, but either way, Ayumi was mad.

She turned from the window, and went into her room, bringing her sleeping bag and pillow with her. Slamming the door, she laid down on her bed. She took out the box under her bed, and looked at her brother's necklace. She held it tight in her hands. Her hand was so tight; she could feel the edges cutting into her skin. She brought her fist to her forehead, and said once more to her self, "I hate him! I hate everything about him! He needs to leave!"

"Ayumi?"

She looked up and at her door. The noise had woken up Endoh, and apparently Emi had gone back into her room when the others left. They stood in her doorway, looking worried. Endoh gasped as she ran to her friend's side. "What's wrong? You're crying." She said. Ayumi turned away surprised, and wiped away the tears. She hadn't even noticed. Endoh put her arms around her, and Emi sat next to them. "What's up?" Emi asked. Ayumi looked down at the necklace. It had cut her hand, causing another gasp from Endoh. She ran to where they kept first aid supplies, leaving the other girls alone.

"Emi," Ayumi said to get her other friend's attention. Emi looked towards her, not as worried as Endoh, but just as concerned. She explained to Emi about the night before, and how for some reason it had gotten to her. Emi tried to help, but it wasn't easy. She didn't even know why Ayumi hated him so much. He caught her, but it was bound to happen eventually. She was only human. She tried to convince this to her friend, but it wasn't working. When Endoh came back with a bandage, the conversation was over. Both Emi and Ayumi knew that Endoh would panic over the conversation they had just had.

Endoh aided her friend, and they went out into the village. They girls kept secret, and made they way around. All was well, until Ayumi and Zuko's daily argument arrived. Emi wanted to stop Zuko, but if she did, he would know about Ayumi's problem. She could only watched, and pray. Zuko had walked over to her, just as he always did, and asked for his money. Normally, Ayumi would give him sly remarks, but she wasn't going to today.

"No," she said flatly.

"And why not?" He asked in return.

She began to walk away, but Zuko grabbed her shoulder. "I've been here for days now, waiting for my money, Ayumi, and I'm not leaving until I get it."

"Leave," she said tonelessly.

"What?"

"You heard me, 'leave.' You don't need this money, so leave."

"No," Zuko said again, and he turned her towards him. She was looking at the ground, refusing to look him in the face. "Give it, now!"

With that Ayumi grabbed his wrist of the hand still on her shoulder. She squeezed tighter, and tighter, he tried to fight both her and pain, but he was failing. He fell to the ground, still trying to fight free. She lifted her head enough as so he could see her eyes. They were for of hatred, rage, anger, he was almost afraid to look at them, but he had to show no fear to her. Her grip began to nearly crush his wrist. "I said, 'NO!' If you didn't hear me. I hate you. I hate you to the core!"

A crowd had gathered, and some began to turn away. No one had ever seen Ayumi look like this; even Endoh had to turn away from her. Emi tried to gain the courage to interfere, but she couldn't. She looked at her friend scared, very scared. "I want you to leave!" Ayumi said again, "I never want to see your face here again. I hate you; I hate everything about you, and everyone like you! So if you know what is good for you," she squeezed his wrist even more, "You'll go, and never come back!" She pushed him away, and left through the crowd, without a single sound.

The crowd looked at Zuko, who was now on one knee on the ground holding his wrist. Nakashima ran to help him, but he told her to leave him alone. He got up, and walked in the opposite direction of Ayumi. The crowd slowly departed, leaving Zuko and Ayumi's friends alone. They split up, boys and girls, to find the two.

Ayumi walked through the woods. Even the animals seemed to know to avoid her. She walked to the town. She knew no one would follow her there. She looked out to the ghost town, and stared at the sun. It was around three o'clock or so. She continued to stare, when someone else came out from the woods. She didn't look at them, she talk to them; she ignored their presence, until he stood next to her. "The only place where no one would look," they said. Unable to ignore them anymore, she turned to him with rage, to see it was the last person she wanted to see: Zuko. "I told you I hate you. Why to do you continue you to stay? To bother me?"

"I know you said you hate me, but that doesn't mean I'm going to leave. I want my money, and I told you I'm not leaving without it," he said. She looked back out to the sun, and told him to leave. He didn't budge. She glared at him, and repeated, "Leave." He didn't move. She turned to him, and yelled, "What's your problem!" She began to breathe heavy, and clenched her fists. He continued to stand there, and looked towards the sun, just as she had been. "I'm very determined, if you can't tell. I have another thing I won't give up on either."

She lowered her fists, and looked up to him, curious. "My father hates me, more than you do. He told me to leave, and I did. I could go back, but only if I give him something in return. It's not as much as a something, but a certain someone. You showed me that you wouldn't hesitate to hurt me when I aggravate you, but my father, I don't even have to make him mad for him to kill me."

Ayumi looked at him surprised then stared out to the sun again. "He can't hate you that much, can he?"

"He thinks I'm a failure. My sister is a prodigy; she's perfect. To my father, I'm nothing more than a pain that continues to get in his way."

"Why do you want to go home to someone like that?" Ayumi asked him angrily, "If he'll kill you when he gates the chance, what's the point?"

"I don't know. I guess I believe that if I bring him this person, he'll start to look at me like I'm not worthless."

"Zuko, if your father was like that, he wouldn't have told you to leave."

They looked at each other, but were interrupted when a metal tank started to come towards them. " The Fire Nation!" the said in unison. They turned back towards the village; the time had come.

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**What's going to happen? Is the fact that Zuko caught Ayumi really the reason she hates, and for that matter, does she really hate him?**

**R&R!**


	12. Chapter 11

**He guys! Awesome, I made up for my lack of updating, by updating again! This is the last chapter. I know this wasn't a long story, but it was good while it lasted, right?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own avatar the last airbender, or any of it's characters, but I do own the village kids.

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Chapter 11:

Zuko and Ayumi ran back to the village. Zuko tried to keep up with his speedy companion. When they arrived, the kids were surprised to see the two together, but that past and turned into panic when they explained that the fire nation had arrived, and was in town. Hara commanded everyone to go to his or her stations. Ayumi and her friends were to keep with the little kids, while Nakashima and her friends were to give aid to the boys as they fought.

Zuko and Ayumi separated to go to their places. Ayumi and the others hid at their house. Nakashima's group split between the battlefield and the river. Zuko grabbed a set of twin swords that he had had with him the day he came, and joined the other boys. They watched the horizon, waiting. Everything was planed, but everyone knew it could still go wrong. The metal tank showed itself, and the boys stood their ground. Oguri and Masahiro stood by Zuko's sides.

Zuko had been worried, but when he saw Oguri and Masahiro, he knew he wasn't nearly as scared as them. Zuko was just a long stay visitor, if the village burned to the ground, he would just be traveling again, but for the others… If the village perished, they would be lost, this was their home. The tank stopped and a door opened like a drawbridge. Out came men of all sizes, and when they were all out of the tank, Hara declared the beginning of the battle. The boys ran towards the men, using everything they could, weapons, bending, martial arts, anything.

"Waah!" Tsubaki cried, and she grabbed on to Emi. Emi held her, and everyone kept an eye out from the open door. Men and boys were thrown and hit at the door, scaring the little kids. Endoh kept in the back with most of them, Ayumi was right in the door. She watched as the boys were burned and wounded. Tsubaki let go of Emi and sat in front of Ayumi, holding on to Ayumi's necklace. "Ayumi, what's gonna happen?" She asked. Ayumi just continued to stare at the destruction. "Ayumi?" She asked again.

"I don't know," she replied, not taking her eyes off the sight. Tsubaki looked around, and began to panic. "Mushi! I forgot Mushi!" she announced. Ayumi looked at her, then back out. "Look! There he is!" Tsubaki told her, pointing out to a stuffed saber-toothed moose cub. Tsubaki's eyes lit up, and with out another thought, she darted out of the house. "Tsubaki, No!" Ayumi yelled trying to stop the little girl, but it was to late. Tsubaki was out in the battle, running towards the animal. Ayumi got up and ran to her.

She jumped on Tsubaki, making them both avoid a fireball. Tsubaki reached out, and grabbed the doll, and said to Ayumi, "I'm scared," tears already streaming down her face.

"It's okay, we're gonna get out of this," Ayumi said over the sounds of battle, "I hope." Another fireball came towards them, and Ayumi used some water from a puddle to stop it. The girls got up and started back to the house. Ayumi shielded Tsubaki as much as she could, and got her safely back, but she wasn't so lucky. Just as Tsubaki entered the house, another fire bender attacked her. "AYUMI!" everyone in the house shouted.

"I'll be fine, keep the kids in there!" She yelled back, and used her water bending to freeze his arm. With only one arm, he couldn't fire bend. Ayumi took this opportunity on the battlefield to her advantage. She left the fire bender, to help some of the boys. They protested, but she wasn't going to leave. She ran over to Oguri, and froze his fire bender in his tracks. She ran off to help the others, and Oguri looked at the bender. "Ha ha," he taunted as he hit the man on the head with a stick. When the man made to grab him, he ran off. Ayumi rolled her eyes at the sight, and turned to help Hara. She was stopped mid-way when a fire bender hit her over the head. She fell to the ground.

"Ayumi!" Zuko yelled. He had seen everything from where he was fighting. He used his twin swords to push his opponent away, and run to her. She was starting to wake up when her got there. She was wide-awake when Zuko blocked a spear from going into her side. "What the hell are you doing out here?" He looked down to her, and she pushed him over from the knees. He fell next to her, and they watched another fireball fly over head. "Helping you, if you must know," she replied. They got up and stood back to back. Stances ready, they fought off some more fire benders.

Ayumi flipped a man out of her way, when she saw Nakashima. She was helping one of the younger boys, and didn't realize her other company. "Nakashima!" She yelled. Nakashima looked up and Ayumi through an icicle at the fire nation soldier standing behind her. "Thanks, Ayumi," she said. The girls helped move the boy into a house, where some other girls waited to bring him to the river for first aid. The girls went back out, and were stopped by a blockade of fire nation men. Ayumi stood in front of Nakashima, and said, "Sorry for the arm."

"Sorry for the hair," Nakashima replied. Ayumi made a blade of ice from the little water she had, but it wasn't enough. One man broke the ice before she could use it. The girls grabbed onto each other, Nakashima closed her eyes, and Ayumi tightened her grip on Nakashima's shirt. The man smirked, then fell forwards. The girls looked to see Oguri with his stick at hand. "Now there's a sight I never thought I'd see!" He stated. The girls glared at him, and he ran off.

"Nakashima," Ayumi said, she was looking up. Above them was the village's supply of rainwater; they used it when there was a drought. "Go get Watari, and hurry!"

Nakashima nodded, and ran to the house where Watari and the others were. Ayumi unfroze her broken blade, and turned it into many icicles. She threw them at the rope holding up the water. When it broke, the water spilled over the battlefield. She smiled at her achievement, and ran to meet Watari and Nakashima. She and Nakashima hit knuckles to show a thanks and your welcome. Watari and Ayumi stood next to each other, and at the same time, froze everything that was wet, including the fire nation soldiers. They stood in frozen tracks, and the kids realized the battle was over, they had won.

They all rejoiced. Oguri hit his frozen opponent with his stick, and Masahiro joined him in a laugh of victory. Zuko stood over on the side, and everyone began to go back to their houses. Ayumi stayed in place and watched them leave. Zuko watched her, and called out her name, but he was late.

One soldier was still standing, and he had hit Ayumi. Zuko ran over and fought the man. Ayumi lay on the ground, and Zuko tried to stop the man from killing her.

He pushed the man away, but the man came back, and rammed Zuko in the stomach. He fell over, and tried to get up. He forced himself to fight the pain, like he had always done with Ayumi. The man stood over Ayumi, raised a sword over his head and when it stared it's decent, a fireball hit him. The crowd of kids that remained gasped. Zuko was standing, and his swords at hand were smoking. He started towards the man again, and now the swords were a flame. The fire bender was as surprised as the other kids, but he wasn't going to back down. The two fought, and Ayumi began to come to.

She sat up and rubbed her head, then realized the show. Watari, Emi, Endoh, and the others, including Nakashima, ran to help her. They helped her up, but she couldn't take her eyes off of Zuko and the soldier. Zuko pushed the man away, again, with a fireball shaped as an "X." The man was knocked out. Zuko sighed, and realized what he had just done. He turned to the kids, all of which were looking at him with either fear, or anger. Oguri stepped forth, "You're one of them?"

Zuko lowered his head, the time had come, and he was found out. "You're like the bad people," Tsubaki said. She grabbed onto Ayumi's hand. Zuko looked at her, then to Ayumi. He couldn't identify the emotion she had right now, but he didn't want to find out. She looked scared, confused, betrayed. Hara stepped forth, and announced, "One hour. You have one hour to gather our things, and leave."

The kids departed, leaving Zuko alone. He walked over to Masahiro and Oguri's house; they threw his belongings at him, and told him that he was a back stabber. Oguri had told him that if the fire nation hadn't attacked, Zuko would have probably killed them in their sleep. Without a word, Zuko got his ostrich- horse, and headed out. Everyone came outside to see the liar leave. Ayumi stood with the other girls. They talked of what he might have done if he had stayed. When he was out of view, the kids left.

"Wow, Ayumi," Watari said, "I wish I had the same judgement you do."

"Yeah," Nakashima added, "No wonder you hated him. You could tell something wasn't right."

Ayumi didn't leave with them; she stayed in her spot, looking out in the direction Zuko had left. "Ayumi?" Emi waved her hand in her face. Ayumi closed her eyes, and turned her head. "Ayumi, what's wrong?" Kojima asked, getting worried.

Ayumi ran. She darted off in the same direction she was staring at. "Ayumi!" Endoh yelled.

"Well, come one," Watari said, "If we don't start running now, we'll never catch her!" They ran off after her, not stopping.

Ayumi made her way past the trees and rocks, and when Zuko came into view, she yelled out to him, "Wait!" Zuko stopped, and looked back to her. She ran up to him, and caught her breath. "I have something I wanted to give you," she said. She threw a little pouch of money up to him, and leaned against the ostrich-horse with her head down and eyes closed. "Here's a hint, you weren't going to get anything, even if I did give your money back," she looked back up at him, " They don't take fire nation money."

Zuko looked at her surprised. The things she had said to him over the past few days ran through his head. "You knew?" He asked. She looked down again, "Yeah, I knew."

Zuko got down from the animal, "Then why didn't you tell the others? Why did you make me stay?""

Ayumi looked up to him, and he backed off. He knew that face, it was the face she gave him at the river when she told him about her family. "Sorry," he said. She looked back down again and explained, " I don't know, I think it was… your scar."

Zuko was a little shocked. His scar?

"The day I stole from you, I found out that you were fire nation, so the money was worthless, but when I saw you, I got confused. Why would a fire bender have that large of a burn on his face? I would've told the rest of the kids, but I knew they would make you leave, and I wanted to know how you got he scar, so I kept quiet, sorta. I guess I thought the longer you stayed here, I would figure it out on my own, then tell everyone else, but I didn't." She looked up to him, and said silently, "Your father did that to you, didn't he?"

Zuko looked at her again, still shocked, and he nodded, "My father and I had an Agni Kai, that's…"

"A fire bending duel, I know," she cut him off.

"Right. My father had planned to sacrifice some new recruits in the war, I said that it was murder. For a punishment, I had to fight the person I had insulted with my outburst."

"Your father."

Zuko nodded. The two stood in science for a moment, trying not to look at each other.

"You better get out of here. The rest of the way will be to hard if you ride the ostrich-horse. It'd be easier if you walked." Ayumi said. Zuko nodded, and began to lead the animal away. Ayumi turned to head back, when she was blocked.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Ayumi?" Watari yelled.

"Yeah! What were you thinking?" Emi added.

"I'm sorry!" Ayumi said.

"Sorry isn't good enough, Ayumi! How could you pull a stunt like that?" Endoh said with her hands on her hips.

"Look, okay, it's over now, so it doesn't matter."

"I don't think so, you get back there and kiss him, or else I'll hit you right in the kisser!" Nakashima demanded.

"Look! I… Wait, what?"

"You heard me! Now go!"

Watari pushed Ayumi in the direction she had come from. Ayumi looked at all of her friends as they smiled at her then ran after Zuko again. She called out his name again, and he stopped. "What is it now, Ayumi?" He asked. She averted her eyes from his and asked, "Do you have to go back?"

Zuko nodded, and Ayumi put her arms around his neck, bringing him into an embrace. He felt her tears on his shoulder, and hugged her in return. "I don't want him to hurt you again, Zuko," she said through the sobs. Zuko put his hands on her shoulders, and brought her face to face with him. "He won't," he said as he used his thumb to wipe away a tear streaming down her cheek. She put her hand over his, and forced a smile.

He pushed back the hair that had fallen in her face from running in the woods, and brought her lips up to his. She closed her eyes as they wrapped their arms around each other again. When he let go he promised her that he would see her again, someday, and left.

Ayumi stood there, watching him leave. Within moments, he was gone. She wiped away her final tears, now she was ready to go back. Until she was ambushed.

Six girls jumped out of a nearby bush, and landed on Ayumi. Emi and Endoh squealed with excitement, while Nakashima and Watari hugged her.

"Man, Ayumi, that was awesome!" Watari said, "So tell us!"

"Tell you what, to get off of me?"

"You know what we mean," Emi said, "Give us details!"

"Come on you guys, get off!"

"No way! Tell us!" Nakashima demanded.

"Fine, jeez, if it will get you off my back, literally. He was good."

The woods filled with squeals and laughter. The girls got off, and headed back to the village. When they had started walking Hasagawa looked up to Ayumi.

"Ayumi?" She said.

"Yeah?"

"That was romantic." The girls all laughed again, and went to go clean up the mess from the battle. Ayumi stayed behind, and looked back into the woods, "Good luck, Zuko," she whispered, "I hope you find what you're looking for."

* * *

**So what did you think? She knew the whole time, but still managed to fall for him. I thought it was cute, but I'm the author so my opinion doesn't count. Tell me what you thought. If you haven't been reviewing for the chapters, give me an over all opinion!**

**And guys, be sure to check out my other stories. I'm working on a new avatar one called Silent Jee. Zuko meets up with a pirate, and he's far from normal. A lot of pirates of the carribean one liners, but and orginal story! **

**R&R you guys!**


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